Grasping device for loading or piling bricks or the like



March 16 1926.

c., F. NEUMANN GRASPING DEVICE FOR LOADING 0R PILING BRICKS 0R TI -IE LIKE 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed June 2'7, 1925 [11 re 71 t or:

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c. F. NEUMANN GRASPING DEVICE FOR LOADING 0R FILING BRICKS OR THE LIKE File d June 27, 1925 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 OOOOOOOO March 16 1926.

C. F. NEUMANN GRASPING DEVICE FOR LOADING on FILING BRICKS OR THE LIKE Filed June 27, 1925 3 Sheets-Sheet 5 [hrcnlarz Cf/Ve u ma 7771 1- "wink Patented Mar. 16, 1926.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

CARL FRANZ NEUMANN, 0F GEESTHACH'I, NEAR HAMBURG, GERMANY.

GRASPING DEVICE FOR LOADING OR FILING BRICKS OR THE LIKE.

Application flied June 27, 1925. Serial No. 40,047.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, CARL FRANZ NEU- MANN, a citizen of Germany, residing at Geesthacht, near Hamburg, Germany, have invented certain new and useful Im 'rovewhich when a pull'was exerte turned the cranks and thus also the said shafts. The said buttons, which were arranged eccentrically on the shafts, grasped the pile of stones and carried it, when raised upwardly.

This device has proved to be well adapted for its purpose, when it was not important to save room and when the loaded piles could be treated in rooms, which were designed to corre ond to the dimensions of the piles, or w ere it was convenient to have intermediate spaces between the piles for the purpose of allowing a free circulation of air intermediate or about the piles. However, it is frequently necessary to lodge the piles close to one another, and this was not possible with the devices known heretofore owing to the size of the frame em bracing the piles.

To avoid this inconvenience, according to the present invention, a device is designed consisting essentially of a grasping implement operating similarly to a grasping tongue comprising bar shaped gripping jaws. The tongue-like grasping device con.

sists preferably of levers'rotatably journaled on cross beams and provided at their ends with gripping jaws, the upper shanks of these levers being provided with spanning 'means in such a manner, that by giving a pull the gripping jaws are pressed firmly against the bricks. This spanning device preferably consists of a system of levers ung to a crane or pulley block or the like. Any other kind of spanning device can be used, as for instance a screwspindle or the like by the operation of which the levers carrying the awsand forming the tongue are moved in the desired manner. Means may be rovided for equalizing the pressure, when differentsized bricks are to be piled or loaded. In case of lime-sand stones such equalizing devices are not such an indispensable necessity, but when common bricks are to be piled the differences in the length are so great, that the gripping jawsdo not engage all the rows of stones with e ual power. In order to allow for this requirement the gripping jaws are rovided at their gripping faces with yielding equalizing buttons arranged beside one another, so that in pulling the grasping device upwardly the equalizing buttons engage also those rows of stones in which there are some of lesser length. Particular provision may be made to compel the levers of each pair of toggle bars to move equally, so that in oscillating one of the levers the corresponding counter lever will also be compelled to move to the same degree. r

In the accompanying drawings,

Fig. 1 is an end view of the grasping device shown partly in section,

Fig. 2 is a plan,

Fig. 3 is a side view,

Fig. 4 is a view similar to Fig. 1, of a modification,

Fig. 5 is a longitudinal horizontal section of the gripping means, and

Fig. 6 an elevation of such gripping means as used in the modified construction shown in, Fig. 4. g

In the construction shown in Figs. 1 to 3 the jaws a in which the equalizing buttons 6 are yieldingly" mounted, consist of two channel irons telescoping into one another, of. which the-inner one is rovided witha series of perforations throug which the buttons. 7) project outwardly, each one having a flange at the inner end bearing against the web of the channel under the action of a spring d. The jaws a are attached to bell cranklevers f, g, which are pivoted to cross beams e, and which consist of angular plates 9 riveted to T-irons 7, which are connected with the jaws a by rivets or the like. The pivoting of .the bell crank lever f, g to the channels e is effected by longitudinally rods '71. surrounded by distance tubes 2' to keep thedifferent parts of the device at the re quired distance from one another. Beside the distance tubes '5 distance rings is are provided intermediate the two channels of each. pair of beams and of the angular plates 9 so that the bell crank levers are able to freely oscillate on the rods k. On the beams e moreover brackets m are mounted, to which levers n are pivotally attached, which at a short distance from the pivot pin are connected with the bell crank levers f, g by rods 0, and at the outermost ends the levers n are connected to arms 1', which are pivoted by pins 8 to a connecting pin t. The latter can be carried bya beam u, which by a shackle '0 may be suspended from any known crane. Evidently when the shackle is raised the rods 1, n, 0 cause a closing up of the pair of bell crank levers f, g forming a tongue, thus grasping and holding firmly the complete pile of bricks, whereby the equalizing buttons 1) secure a firm pressure on all stones of the lowest layer of the pile. In further pulling the device upward the pile of bricks will be raised.

To ensure that both bell crank levers f, g of the pair of hell crank levers move uniformly and symmetrically the horizontal arm of each bell crank lever is connected with the vertical arm of the opposite bell crank lever by a tension rod '40.

In the above named brackets m shafts a: are rotatably' journaled having locking cams 3 and handles a, by the operation of which the cams y can be so rotated, as to press against the horizontal arms of the bell crank levers 9, thus preventing automatical closure 0 the tongue, when the device is moved away after loading a pile of bricks.

pile only on .two sides, while the other two sides of the pile are completely unobstructed, so as to enable a series of piles to be deposited close to one another without intermediate spaces.- This is of particular importance for loading vessels with bricks.

In the construction shown. in Figs. 4 to 6 care is taken, that between the equalizing buttons there are no spaces, in order to en-' sure that every brick in the bottom layer is gras ed.

With this object in view the equalizing buttons are not guided in openings of the gripping jaw, but they are guided againstone another which is made possible by having opposite parallel sides placed close to one another in the channels a. These equalizing buttons 1) are held in position by bolts 0. which piroject through openings in the beam (1.. elical springs a embrace these bolts and bear at one end against the beam a and at the other end against the button 6. Pins d at the ends of the bolts a limit the outward movement of the buttons by the pressure of the-springs a Preferably each equalizing button has two spring pressed bolts a so as to prevent jamming ments, comprising, oppositely arranged bell crank levers with vertically positioned arms, beams mounted on the lower ends of the vertical arms of the bell crank levers for gripping the bottom layer of a pile of brick from opposite'sides, and rods connecting the vertical arm of each bell crank lever with the horizontal arm of the other bell crank lever.

2. A gripping device for loading piles of bricks and having tongue like gripping elements, comprising, oppositely arranged bell crank levers with vertically positioned arms, beams mounted on the lower ends of the vertical arms of the bell crank levers for gripping the bottom layer of a pile of brick from opposite sides, rods connecting the vertical arm of each bell crank lever with the horizontal arm of the other bell crank The above .described device engages the lever, and e ualizing buttons on the beams having side aces which are parallel to each other for guiding the buttons against each other.

3. A gripping device for loading piles of bricks and having tongue like gripping elements, comprising, oppositely arranged bell crank levers with vertically positioned arms, beams mounted on the lower ends of the vertical arms of the liell crank levers for gripping the bottom layer of a pile of brick from opposite sides, rods connecting the vertical arm of each bell crank. lever with the horizontal arm of the other bell crank lever, and e ualizing buttons on the. beams CARL FRANZ NEUMANN. 

